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Time Is Golden

by Big Smoke

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1.
The wind was picking up And the sun was getting high In a rusty pick-up truck See the big smoke on the rise We’re gonna pack it up Gonna cross that great divide Had enough of the bad luck Hit us harder than I thought it could But we can’t stop now We’ve gotta find out how We can turn it into something good Times are getting tough My convictions on the slide But I don’t wanna fuck it up Gonna try and make it right And you might’ve had enough But I won’t give up the fight We’ve been hitting the hard roads Cut us deeper than we understood Getting turned around And we’re falling down We’ll pick it back up like we know we should Had enough of the bad luck Hit us harder than I thought it could But we can’t stop now We’ve gotta find out how We can turn it into something good Get away endless sorrow Get away from the pain inside You can stay in the clouds forever A little more each day, we’ll get our shit together
2.
Best Of You 03:47
The time’s golden We should be rolling But your pattern’s holding And I want you to land You keep stalling I keep on calling There you are falling Slipping right through my hand The shadows creeping ‘round the edge of your bed Catch you sleeping, get inside of your head But I won’t give up, I won’t sleep till I’m dead We’re peeling back the blue skies They got nothing on your blue eyes I want nothing but the best of you The best of you No make believing Just let me ease in Baby give me a reason Not to tear down your wall But you’re getting meaner My ballerina Nothing in between you And the bottom of my soul The cold winds sweeping ‘round the edge of your bed Make you shiver, get it dark in your head But I won’t give up, I won’t sleep till I’m dead We’re peeling back the blue skies They got nothing on your blue eyes I want nothing but the best of you The best of you
3.
4.
Wrong 04:10
This love it knocked me on my back Put me in a cage When the truth feels like a cheap attack And it cuts you just the same Now I don’t wanna do it like that No it ain’t worth the pain I’m tired of running ‘round the same old track I ain’t gonna play the game When I take you and hold you tight Honey I ain’t leading you on But I want you to stay the night Baby don’t get me wrong Always we would get sad The darkness covered days When the love just made you feel bad And nothing ever changed You tell me that he don’t mean shit But I know where you’ve been lying And this talking’s gonna make me sick Don’t help it when you’re crying Said everything would be alright But I feel it all turning to stone And it hurts me to say goodbye Baby don’t get me wrong Don’t get me wrong, don’t get me falling for another one Is it that good love once again? When the song, the song was playing and we were singing it I never thought that it could end In the end Yeah, I hear everything you’re saying I can hear the noise Yeah, all the plans that we were making Now I don’t see the point But when I catch the sun in your eyes And it’s with me long after you’re gone And I’m staring through the darkest night Sometimes I don’t want to be alone When I take you and hold you tight Honey I ain’t leading you on But it don’t mean I won’t do you right Baby don’t get me wrong
5.
When the shine was fading and the mood got dark It put me to the test Picking up the pieces where we broke apart But it was such a mess I’m trying anything to make you see Should I give up yet? I rehearse it all night but try as I might I barely learned the first step When you dance The only light I ever see And by some chance You’re standing right in front of me Try to have conviction in the things we speak Don’t wanna have no doubts But inside our apartment we had sprung a leak And it was pouring out When you give everything it don’t come cheap Just hope there’s something left I’ll collect what’s mine, gonna lay it on the line I wanna ride on this bet When you dance The only light I ever see And by some chance You’re standing right in front of me
6.
Woman 04:27
I got slapped by the hard morning light I ain’t seen Janey since she left in the middle of the night I got a feeling and it don’t feel right But I ain’t going down in the second round, I’m putting up a fight And I’ve been wandering through this smothering soulless city Getting low in the dives where it don’t look pretty I get so lonesome when you’re not standing with me Roll me down the stony crooked hall and throw me on the street Now the wheels are coming off And I probably set it off And you might be better off With some other guy And I’d say that I’d be cool with you but that’d be a lie Oh I need a good woman here to ease my mind Will you love me now or will you love me not? Baby I give you everything I’ve got I’ve got a fever, hey I’m running hot Got a wounded pride and a battered head, a spirit that’s been shot I gotta split this scene and shuffle out of this city Darling take your chances with me Lost in your ocean eyes, they sparkle pretty Let’s hit the road that gets us outta here, wherever that may be Now the wheels are coming off And I probably set it off Honey please don’t get it off With some other guy Don’t play me for a fool, for you I’d lay it on the line Oh I need a good woman here to ease my mind And it can’t be said enough It’s all that I’m thinking of It’s love
7.
Kiss Me Once 04:45
When the last of the autumn leaves have quit their hanging on They fall upon that cold road that I’ll soon be traveling on If the darkness should find me Gonna put your love behind me I will carry the fire within my soul Now I can’t be hanging around On tomorrow’s wind I’m blown So could you please kiss me once before I’m gone? I should’ve tried but I bit my tongue and I could never say Then I cried, ain’t it funny the time could slip away Mistakes, well I made ‘em Oh honey if I could change one I would lay my desire upon your door Now the high noon sun is sinking low And I fear that it won’t be long So could I please kiss you once before I’m gone? But I will not go quietly I will rage in the eye of the storm As the fear builds inside of me I will turn it to stone I need all the strength that you can find in me Cos I know I won’t make it alone Oh baby, please kiss me once before I’m gone Kiss me once before I’m gone Kiss me once
8.
Trading a dime for the daily news Leon Jones crushed a cigarette under his shoe Poor Leon Jones if he only knew At every corner the devil is waiting for you I feel the fear Drawing near Cold lead in hand when my hell is here I need a light Getting high Stranded on the wire Lean on the fire Some cats come to shoot up the Stop-And-Go Said, “Get the hell on the ground boys this isn’t a show” But old Leon Jones, don’t nobody know He got a .36 rifle buried under his coat I feel the fear Drawing near Cold lead in hand when my hell is here I need a light Getting high Stranded on the wire Lean on the fire
9.
Lay Thy Hand 04:25
Lay thy hand upon my face Lay a touch so tender All I’d give of me for one small taste To your sweetness I’d surrender Move slow Feel and flow Be my love’s defender Now I hold the key to the promised land Where you lay your hand Lay thy hand upon my shoulder All the warmth and the healing As the summer fades and the night grows colder Be a light in me revealing A faint glow And I’m a little low How I long to feel it Come and save my soul like I know you can Where you lay your hand Lay thy hand upon my own Let it trace all the memory I will fold you up and I’ll take you home I am hopeful, I am ready When you stray Float away Be a light ascending Shine in all I was and all I am Where you lay your hand
10.
Honey, I 05:18
I lit out under a raining cloud In a town where all the streets sloped south Where the traffic flowed and stopped to rest To the rhythm in my hollow chest If a distant constellation Was reading thoughts from in my mind It would all be useless information Just coming down that line Cos I have no revelation Just a feeling I can’t describe I need to speak with you tonight Oh Honey, I I stumbled in the empty house And I stood there in the dark for hours I’d memorised each room, each hall I traced my fingers along the dusty walls I heard an old folk singer Humming through a radio Singing songs of loss and sadness About a girl he used to know That was more than fifty years now I wasn’t born before he died I need to speak with you tonight Oh Honey, I Lately I’ve been thinking If I could live a million lives Would I change myself to make me Light the spark behind your eyes? Would I stand by my convictions? Would I never tell a lie? I need to speak with you tonight Oh Honey, I

about

Big Smoke was formed in 2009 by lead singer and songwriter, Adrian Slattery. The band became a beloved staple of the Melbourne music scene, building a reputation as a group of phenomenal players with an exceptional command of classic rock ‘n’ roll song-writing.

In early 2015, Adrian was diagnosed with terminal oesophageal cancer. Despite significant health obstacles and the knowledge his cancer was incurable, Adrian was determined and the band was unstoppable, continuing to tour and eventually tracking their debut album between a four-month regimen of chemotherapy and brain surgery in November 2015 (at Soundpark Studios with engineer Nao Anzai). Working tirelessly, the band continued to produce overdubs at The Aviary Studios in Abbotsford from late 2015 to early 2016.

Adrian died from oesophageal cancer in May, less than a year after his diagnosis. Throughout his illness, he was determined to leave behind a legacy – for his family, his friends and the world. That legacy is Time Is Golden, the debut album from Big Smoke and the record Adrian always wanted to make.

The album features 10 songs written by Adrian over the period of a decade, with additional arrangements by band members Luke Brennan (drums), Alex O’Gorman (bass), Tim Baker (guitar) and Joe Cope (keyboards).

“Given my terminal diagnosis, I have a profound sense of urgency and gravitas about what I want to achieve in my career and the completion and release of the Big Smoke album is paramount to this,” Adrian said during the recording process. “The songs on the album were written in the time period following the dissolution of my marriage and diagnosis with terminal cancer, pairing these lyrical themes with our established musical sensibility for rock ‘n’ roll, pop, country and soul.”

Before he died, Adrian and the band had earmarked engineer Shawn Everett to mix the record. They wanted a sound modern yet timeless and believed Shawn – who won a Grammy for his work on Alabama Shakes’ Sound & Color – was the best person for the job. Shawn flew to Melbourne in August and mixed the bulk of the album at St Charles Studios in Northcote. The remainder was done in LA the following week – including an additional guitar arrangement by Blake Mills. Luke, Alex and Adrian’s ex-wife and best friend Paige Clark were heavily involved in the process, acting as creative decision makers in Adrian’s absence. They worked 12-hour days, from midday to midnight, turning Adrian’s grand vision into a bold, beautiful reality.

The result is Time Is Golden, a testament to the band’s determination and vision that lives out Adrian’s wish to create an enduring, major work. But this tale isn’t a tragedy. As Adrian himself said, “This is not the story of heartbreak or of illness, it is the story of living and all that it entails.”

Time Is Golden is a lasting tribute to Adrian’s immense talent, extinguished too soon.

credits

released October 28, 2016

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Big Smoke Melbourne, Australia

Adrian Slattery was a dynamo. A staple of the Melbourne music scene for over 10 years, he formed Big Smoke in 2009 as a collection of several of Melbourne’s finest players.
Adrian died from oesophageal cancer in May, less than a year after his diagnosis. Throughout his illness, he was determined to leave behind a legacy – for his family, his friends and the world. That legacy is Time Is Golden.
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